Alimony in the Netherlands: who pays, how much and for how long?

In the Netherlands, both parents must pay child maintenance until the child turns 21, and a former spouse or registered partner who cannot support themselves may claim spousal maintenance, usually for at most five years. The amount depends only on the need of the person entitled and the other party’s ability to pay; who caused the break-up plays no role.

The rules are in Book 1 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW) and are applied by the family courts. Below we explain the two forms of alimony (alimentatie), how the amounts are calculated, how long spousal maintenance lasts under the rules in force since 1 January 2020, when an arrangement can be changed, and what you can do if payments stop.

Which two forms of alimony exist?

Dutch law distinguishes child maintenance (kinderalimentatie) from spousal maintenance (partneralimentatie). Both are based on need and ability to pay, but they have different legal bases, calculations and durations.

The court usually decides both in the same divorce proceedings. Legally, they are separate obligations, and one can exist without the other.

There is no spousal maintenance after unmarried cohabitation, however long the relationship lasted, unless you agreed otherwise in a cohabitation agreement. Child maintenance, by contrast, is owed whether or not the parents were ever married.

Who must pay child maintenance?

Both parents must contribute to the costs of care and upbringing of their minor children, in proportion to their means (Article 1:404 BW). The obligation follows from parenthood, not from the relationship between the parents, and it does not end because one parent rarely sees the child.

For young adults aged 18 to 21, it continues under Article 1:395a BW as a contribution to living and study costs. At that age, the young adult can claim the contribution in their own name.

A step-parent who is married to, or in a registered partnership with, a parent can also be liable under Article 1:395 BW, if the child belongs to their shared household. That obligation lasts only as long as the marriage or partnership.

How is child maintenance calculated?

The courts use the guidelines of the Expert Group on Maintenance Standards (Expertgroep Alimentatienormen), published every year and known as the Trema standards. The calculation has three steps.

1. The child’s needs. The starting point is the family’s net income before the separation, converted into a monthly cost of the child using tables based on figures from the national budget institute Nibud.
2. Each parent’s ability to pay. Each parent’s net disposable income is reduced by an allowance for their own basic living costs, and a fixed percentage of the rest counts as ability to pay. The costs of the child are divided in proportion to that ability.
3. The care discount. The parent with whom the child does not mainly live gets a care discount (zorgkorting): a percentage deducted from their contribution, depending on the number of days per week the child spends with them.

We explain the calculation in more detail, with an example, in our guide to calculating child maintenance in the Netherlands.

When does child maintenance end?

At the age of 21. It can end earlier if the child becomes financially independent, and the amount can be changed in the meantime under Article 1:401 BW if a parent’s income changes substantially. A new relationship of either parent does not end it, although a new partner’s income can indirectly affect ability to pay.

When are you entitled to spousal maintenance?

When you do not have enough income to support yourself and cannot reasonably be expected to earn it, and your former spouse can afford to pay (Article 1:157 BW). If either condition is missing, no spousal maintenance is owed.

The same rules apply when a registered partnership ends. Anglo-American categories such as rehabilitative or permanent alimony do not exist in Dutch law.

Need is assessed against the standard of living during the marriage, not against a subsistence minimum. The court does expect a real effort to become self-supporting: a former partner who could work but does not may have their need assessed on the income they could earn.

How is spousal maintenance calculated?

The courts usually set the need of the former partner at 60 percent of the net family income during the marriage, after deducting the costs of the children. That figure is then tested against the applicant’s own income and the payer’s ability to pay.

Child maintenance always takes priority over spousal maintenance (Article 1:400 BW), so the payer’s ability to pay is calculated after child maintenance. A final check, the income comparison (jusvergelijking), makes sure the recipient is not left better off than the payer.

How long does spousal maintenance last?

For divorces from 1 January 2020, the main rule is half the length of the marriage, with a maximum of five years. This follows from the Partner Maintenance Reform Act (Wet herziening partneralimentatie).

There are exceptions that extend the term. If more than one applies, the longest term applies.

• Young children. If you have a child together who is under 12, spousal maintenance continues until the youngest child turns 12.
• A long marriage close to retirement. If the marriage or registered partnership lasted more than 15 years and the recipient will reach the state pension age (AOW) within 10 years, maintenance continues until that age.
• A long marriage, recipient born on or before 1 January 1970. If the marriage lasted more than 15 years, the term is 10 years. This transitional rule lapses on 1 January 2027, seven years after the Act entered into force.

Can the term be extended?

Only in exceptional cases. The court can set a longer term if ending maintenance on the normal date would be so drastic that continuing payment cannot in fairness be denied (Article 1:157 BW), for example because of serious financial hardship, poor health or an age at which a return to work is unrealistic.

The request must be filed within three months after the statutory term has ended. After that, the entitlement is lost.

What if you divorced before 1 January 2020?

The new rules do not apply retroactively. Spousal maintenance set or agreed before 1 January 2020 stays under the old rules: a maximum term of twelve years, or the length of the marriage for a childless marriage of no more than five years. The same three-month deadline applies to a request for extension.

Can you exclude spousal maintenance in a prenuptial agreement?

In general, no. Under Article 1:158 BW, spouses can make binding agreements about spousal maintenance before or at the divorce, but the courts do not accept a waiver in a prenuptial agreement (huwelijkse voorwaarden) that was not made with a divorce in view. The prenuptial agreement does determine how assets are divided, and that affects need and ability to pay.

Does alimony increase every year?

Yes. Alimony amounts are adjusted by law on 1 January each year (Article 1:402a BW), by a percentage set by the Minister of Justice and Security based on wage developments. The current percentage is published on the government website.

The increase is automatic, whether or not the court order mentions it. The only way to avoid it is to exclude indexation expressly in a maintenance agreement. In practice, a significant part of alimony arrears consists of indexation that was never paid.

How is alimony taxed?

Spousal maintenance is deductible for the payer and taxed as income for the recipient, both in box 1 of the income tax return. Child maintenance is not deductible; that deduction was abolished on 1 January 2015.

The payer’s deduction is limited to the rate of the first income tax bracket, so higher earners get less benefit than their top rate. A lump sum that buys out spousal maintenance is taxed in the year it is paid and can push the recipient into a higher bracket. For your personal tax position, consult a tax adviser.

Can you change or end alimony?

Yes, if circumstances have changed so that the amount no longer meets the statutory standards, or if the arrangement was based on incorrect or incomplete information (Article 1:401 BW). Examples are redundancy, a new job, illness, a child moving to the other parent or the birth of another child.

A change is not automatic. You need a court decision or new written agreements with the other party; until then, the existing amount remains payable.

What is a non-variation clause?

Former spouses can agree in a divorce settlement that the amount of spousal maintenance cannot be changed (Article 1:159 BW). Such a clause is binding, and it is a common source of later regret.

The court can set the clause aside only if circumstances have changed so drastically that holding the other party to it would be contrary to reasonableness and fairness (Article 1:159(3) BW). An ordinary drop in income does not meet that threshold. A non-variation clause cannot be agreed for child maintenance.

When does spousal maintenance end automatically?

When the recipient remarries, enters into a registered partnership, or lives with someone else as if they were married or in a registered partnership (Article 1:160 BW). The entitlement then ends permanently and does not revive if the new relationship ends.

Cohabitation is the most disputed of these grounds: the case law requires a lasting affective relationship, a shared household and mutual care. Spousal maintenance also ends when either former spouse dies, unless the divorce settlement provides otherwise.

What can you do if alimony is not paid?

A court order for alimony can be enforced directly. If payments stop, a bailiff can seize wages, a bank account or other assets without new court proceedings.

You can also ask the National Maintenance Collection Agency (Landelijk Bureau Inning Onderhoudsbijdragen, LBIO) to collect child or spousal maintenance for you. The LBIO has conditions for taking on a case, including how old the arrears may be, so apply soon after payments stop.

If you pay and your income has genuinely fallen, ask the court to change the amount under Article 1:401 BW instead of simply paying less. Reducing payments on your own does not reduce the debt; it only builds up arrears.

What if alimony crosses a border?

A move abroad does not end an alimony obligation. Within the EU, the Maintenance Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 4/2009) governs which court has jurisdiction and how decisions are recognised and enforced; a decision from one member state can be enforced in another without an intermediate procedure.

As a rule, the person entitled to maintenance can start proceedings in the country where they habitually live, and the 2007 Hague Protocol in principle points to the law of that country. Those two questions often affect the amount more than any calculation. Our guide to divorce in the Netherlands explains the wider procedure.

What should you check if you pay alimony?

Most disputes about paying come down to the calculation and to deadlines under Articles 1:157 and 1:401 BW.

• Check whether your ability to pay was calculated after child maintenance and with your actual net income.
• Check the end date of spousal maintenance: half the length of the marriage, maximum five years, or one of the exceptions.
• Pay the annual indexation from 1 January, even if the order does not mention it.
• Ask for a change under Article 1:401 BW as soon as your income drops; do not simply pay less.
• Check whether your former partner remarried, registered a partnership or lives together as if married (Article 1:160 BW).

What should you check if you receive alimony?

As a recipient, your main risks are unpaid indexation, missed deadlines and a non-variation clause you cannot undo.

• Check whether the 60 percent need calculation reflects the standard of living during the marriage.
• Note the end date of spousal maintenance; a request for extension must be filed within three months after it.
• Check whether the yearly indexation under Article 1:402a BW has actually been paid.
• Read any proposed non-variation clause carefully before signing (Article 1:159 BW).
• Apply to the LBIO or a bailiff soon after payments stop.

What can we do for you with alimony?

Our family lawyers and divorce lawyers handle child and spousal maintenance, including international cases, from Eindhoven and Amsterdam.

• We calculate child and spousal maintenance under the current Trema standards.
• We review a draft divorce settlement or parenting plan, including any non-variation clause.
• We file a request to set, change or end alimony with the family court.
• We file a request to extend spousal maintenance within the three-month deadline.
• We determine which court has jurisdiction and which law applies in a cross-border case.
• We instruct a bailiff to collect arrears, including unpaid indexation.

Summary

• Child maintenance is owed by both parents until the child turns 21, whether or not they were married.
• Spousal maintenance exists only after a marriage or registered partnership and depends on need and ability to pay.
• Since 1 January 2020, spousal maintenance usually lasts half the length of the marriage, with a maximum of five years, subject to exceptions.
• Amounts are indexed every 1 January, and a change of circumstances can justify a new amount by agreement or court order.
• If payments stop, a bailiff or the LBIO can collect the arrears.

Frequently asked questions